SAN DIEGO – Before being entrusted to a baby sitter, a 3-year-old boy loved to play with his toys. Now, after Aaron Zendejas allowed the child to be molested under his care, the child tears his toys apart.

“The sparkle and the drive he used to have are gone,” the boy’s father told a Superior Court judge Tuesday at Zendejas’ sentencing hearing. “It has wrecked my whole family.”

Zendejas pleaded guilty on Oct. 28, the day he was set to go to trial, to committing a lewd act on a child, a kidnapping allegation and production of child pornography for commercial purposes. He was sentenced Tuesday to life in prison by Judge David Danielsen and becomes eligible for parole in 15 years.

Zendejas, 25, did not molest the boy himself, but brought him to Jared Yaffe, 30, of Santee. Yaffe is accused of molesting the boy and at least two minors from Alameda County. He is also accused of paying Zendejas to bring the child to him.

Deputy District Attorney Matthew Greco has said Yaffe victimized several children and teenagers between March and September 2008. Authorities received a tip and Zendejas was arrested in January. Yaffe was a fugitive until his arrest in May in Brazil. He was returned to San Diego.

Zendejas did not speak at his sentencing hearing. His defense attorney, Deputy Public Defender Neil Besse, declined to comment afterward.

Zendejas’ mother, Jeannie Holloway, said her son, who had a rough childhood, was very remorseful.

“He is very sorry for his actions,” Holloway said in an interview. “I stand by him like any mother would.”

Four of the child’s relatives spoke during the sentencing hearing, explaining how the molestation and the breach of trust has deeply hurt the family. The child’s mother has known Zendejas since she was 14 years old, or for about 10 years, and she turned to him for help in caring for the child during a time of need, the family said.

The boy, who was sweet and social before the molestation, is now angry and withdrawn, relatives said. He is in counseling, but the family worries if the child will ever recover his innocence.

“There is not enough time in the world that will ever take away what he did,” the mother told Judge Danielsen.

Yaffe is charged with 20 counts related to child molestation, kidnapping for sexual acts and production of child pornography. His trial is set to begin April 1 and he faces a sentence of 129 years to life in prison if convicted.